Thirsty Camels 'turning the taps on' in central Australia

Camels are coming into communities in central Australia and turning on the taps, the Macdonnell Shire Council says.

The shire has applied to the Federal Government for a $4.5 million slice of infrastructure funding to build camel-proof boundaries around 14 communities.

Wayne Wright from the shire says thirsty camels are causing significant damage.

"In a number of our communities it's quite common for camels to enter the community and if there are any taps adjacent to houses they're quite capable of either turning the taps on or knocking the taps off so they get water."

The intention is to put cattle grids at the entrances of the communities and place fencing around them.

The fencing would also protect the communities from other feral animals, such as donkeys and horses.

Mr Wright says the animals rip up plants and thwart efforts to improve the aesthetics of the communities.

"The big issue for us is should we try to do any beautification works in our communities - tree planting, grassing of areas.

"Unless we can limit the access to those areas, we are going to be wasting our money."

The shire is expecting to find out if the application has been successful next month.

Call for alcohol rehab model rollout Across NT

The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress wants its alcohol rehabilitation model applied to remote communities across the Northern Territory.

The congress has been running a non-residential treatment service in Alice Springs during the past year.

Under the model, clients are prescribed a drug to break alcohol dependence, given cognitive behaviour therapy by a psychologist and follow-up visits by an Aboriginal support worker.

The organisation's John Boffa says he is hoping the next $8 million in Council of Australian Governments (COAG) funding to be spent in the NT will be used to apply the model in remote communities.

"To provide the same service to people where they live throughout central Australia and I think, given the amount of investment that's coming into the alcohol sector, it's vitally important and more efficient to ensure that services are decentralised and they are on the ground in communities where people live," he said.

"We think that there should be one psychologist for every 1,500 Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory, so that means all of the larger Aboriginal health services would have their own psychologist and their own Aboriginal family support workers.

"Those psychologists would be able to work with patients who have addictions who are wanting to get off grog or other drugs but also patients with mental illness."

The congress is part of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT, which is meeting the NT and federal governments in a few weeks to discuss its proposed model for rehabilitation

Children with eating disorders on The rise: study

A new study has revealed more than 100 young children across Australia have been hospitalised with medical complications because of an eating disorder.

Last year, Australian doctors reported children as young as five being diagnosed with eating disorders in Australia.

Dr Sloane Madden specialises in treating children with eating disorders and he says this new research shows they are becoming more common.

"In the last 12 months there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of young people presenting to our unit," he said.

Professor Phillipa Hay from the University Western Sydney says this is a significant study.

"This is a very important landmark study because for the first time it gives us national information on the nature and characteristics of children who suffer early onset eating disorders," she said.

More than 100 underweight children were admitted to hospitals across Australia.

Professor Hay says many were very sick with the effects of starvation.

"For example slowed heart rate, or very low blood pressure so they had become physically compromised and unwell as a consequence of food deprivation," she said.

One in four of the patients were boys.

"People are not expecting to see boys with eating disorders so they are picked up late with much more physical complications than we saw in young girls," Dr Sloane said.

"Specialists are concerned that some GPs are missing the signs of eating disorders.

"In one case, a doctor told a nine-year-old boy's family not to worry that he was losing weight.

"This young boy presented late on a Sunday night with a heart rate in the 30s which was really putting him at immediate risk of dying. He required resuscitation.

"If there starts to be a pattern of children not eating and becoming thinner and skipping lunch regularly, then parents should be concerned."

At first glance the prevalence of underweight children would seem at odds with the increase in childhood obesity but experts say both overweight and underweight children have what is known as disordered eating and the advice to parents is the same.

With early treatment, three-quarters of children make a complete recovery.